AWWA ACE63208

This paper discusses the Kansas City, Missouri Water Services Department (WSD) and its 11-year history of Labor and Management Collaborative Initiatives, which sustains competitiveness and is constantly improving workplace environment. Labor/Management improvement initiatives began in 1994 with the collaborative improvement process, Associates Creating Excellence (ACE). ACE laid the foundation for labor/management team-based participation, improving the culture of the organization's environment. WSD has achievements resulting from three sustained competitive initiatives, a Labor/Management Advisory Committee (LMAC), a training initiative, a GED program and a Toastmasters program. The 11-year ACE/TQM collaborative process, the Competitive 2001 (C2P) initiative for which we received the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) Gold Award, the Competitive Business Plan, and the LMAC afforded WSD to successfully plan and initiate the following major initiatives: ACE Project Teams; Self-Directed Work-Teams; In-Tact Work Groups; All-Hands (all employees) Meetings; and, Functional Planning Work-Groups. The ACE Process encourages and supports all employees to express new ideas and improve the services WSD provides. When employed with WSD every associate automatically receives an ACE pin. Since the ACE journey began, many associates have been trained as team leaders, facilitators and in problem solving skills. Numerous improvement projects have been identified. All WSD associates are encouraged to learn more about ACE and to become involved in the ACE process. There are various labor/management trainings such as: ACE 400 - Team Leader, Facilitation and Problem Solving skills training; ACE 200 - ACE/TQM orientation during the WSD New Associate Orientation which informs associates about the TQM process; ACE 300 - Team foundation's training, when an ACE team is chartered this is the very first meeting held and it trains the ACE team members in the team function, process and procedures; ACE 500 - Quality Council Training where leadership training is presented; Self-Directed/Managed Work Teams training; and, Responsibility/Answerability Training. Includes tables.